Gallant says Hamas operatives ‘hiding in Rafah’ will meet same fate as those in Khan Younis

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

This handout photo shows Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with soldiers in the IDF's Alpine Unit at Mount Hermon, February 2, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
This handout photo shows Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with soldiers in the IDF's Alpine Unit at Mount Hermon, February 2, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says half of Hamas’s operatives have been killed or seriously wounded by IDF troops.

“The IDF operates with strength and precision. The ground operation is progressing and achieving its goals. Our forces operate on the ground in most of the territory of the Gaza Strip,” Gallant says in a press conference.

“18 Hamas battalions are dismantled and no longer function as fighting military frameworks. About half of the Hamas terrorists have been killed or seriously wounded,” he says.

Gallant says the IDF’s ground operation in Gaza is “one of the most complex and complicated in the history of wars.”

“The forces are moving with courage and professionalism in the tunnels that were once the safest place for the terrorists, and now we are increasing the pressure on the terrorists and the leaders of the terrorist organizations,” he says.

Gallant warns the remaining Hamas battalions in southern Gaza’s Rafah and some areas of central Gaza, saying the IDF will reach them as well.

“We will also reach the places where we have not yet fought in the center of the Gaza Strip and in the south, and especially to the last remaining [stronghold] of Hamas, Rafah,” he says.

“Every terrorist hiding in Rafah should know that his end will be like those in Khan Younis and Gaza [City],” Gallant continues.

Gallant repeats the assertion that the IDF’s military pressure on Hamas will advance the return of the hostages held by the terror group.

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